Canadian Patent ruling locks out retired Canadian Armed Forces

Michael Cannata, member, CATA Innovation Leadership Council offers some expert views on the impact of patent restrictions for Canadian Veterans (5 minute video).

Ottawa, ON .... CATAAlliance, Canada's One for Innovation Group today launched an advocacy Campaign to challenge a recent court ruling that classifies CAF (Canadian Armed Forces) Veterans on a supplementary reserve as public servants even though they receive no compensation or benefits from the government for being on the list.

“Companies that have employed Veterans and reservists working full time in the private sector must now seek permission from the federal government before applying for a patent for their inventions if an inventor is on a supplementary reserve list,” said CATA CEO, John Reid, adding “That means any patent that has been issued and currently thought to be owned by a Canadian corporation where a named inventor is retired CAF on a supplementary reserve list may in fact be owned by the government.”

The Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance (CATAAlliance) is Canada's One Voice for Innovation Lobby Group, crowdsourcing ideas and guidance from thousands of opt in members in moderated social networks in Canada and key global markets. (No Tech Firm Left Behind) Contact: CATA CEO, John Reid at jreid@cata.ca